Leaving the Lab
by i-love-svu
Summary: Grissom leaves the lab, and goes to the one person he knows he can trust. Hints at GrissomHeather. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. **

**Author's Note: This story is the result of a teen girl staying up almost all night and writing instead of writing her novel for NaNoWrimo. It's based on some unconfirmed spoilers I read for 'Leaving Las Vegas'. Hints at Grissom/Heather.

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Gil had known for quite some time that he needed to leave the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Between the unbelievable stress and the high tensions of everyone in the lab, he just couldn't handle it anymore. As his resignation papers hit the desk of Conrad Ecklie, the soon to be former Entomologist knew things were going to get very interesting.

"Conrad, I need to talk to you." Catherine burst into the office, which scared Gil immensely. He felt his heart hammer in his chest as he looked at the strawberry-blond. She'd be the one to take the news the hardest and he knew it. "Gil?" She gave him a brief smile. "What are you doing in here?"

He sighed, his eyes focusing on the tiled floor beneath them. "Cath, I need to tell you something," Gil started. He gestured for her to sit down in the stiff leatherback chair that was in front of him.

"What's going on?" Catherine sat in the chair, a confused look covering her face. "Are you okay?"

"No." He sighed as he took the seat next to her. "I'm quitting."

The female CSI shook her head in disbelief. "No, you can't be quitting. You're the only thing here keeping us from killing each other!" She ran her hand over her face as if to wipe away the shock.

"I'm very sorry, Catherine. But I can't handle this anymore. My migraines have started getting worse and my doctor said that if I don't eliminate the cause of the migraines, my health would decline."

"No need to apologize," Catherine replied. "It's not your fault you work with a bunch of stress-causing people." She smiled at him, unshed tears still gleaming in her eyes.

Gil reached out and took her small hands in his own. She was surprised by this; he was Gil Grissom, the man who had never shown a real human emotion in her presence the entire time they had known each other.

"I will keep in touch," He grinned back. "I swear on my racing cockroaches. Maybe we can go out to dinner tomorrow to celebrate my leave?"

"More like mourn your departure." Catherine softly laughed, but stopped dead when a thought popped into her mind. "Does Sara know?"

Gil shook his head. He felt guilty; true, he should've told Sara that he was leaving because it essentially meant that things were over between the two of them. It hadn't been more than a need, as Catherine had once phrased it, to feel human contact. Working as a CSI, you did have contact with people. But they were either dead or the grieving family members.

"Do you plan on telling her?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," Gil answered truthfully. For days, he had attempted to figure out a way to tell his brunette colleague that he was resigning from his position as night shift supervisor, and no longer wanted to see her. Everything that came to mind was too corny or too dumb to be said aloud.

"What are you going to do? I mean, on your first night of freedom?" Catherine wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Probably just drive around." Gil smiled at her. "Why all the questions?"

"Because you will be sorely missed, Gil Grissom." Catherine stood up to give her friend a warm hug. "I'd much rather sit here and talk, but I have to start my shift. Stop by my office before you leave," She grinned feebly.

Outside Ecklie's office, Gil watched Catherine walk away to find her team and hand out assignments. As she quickly turned around and gave him a smile, he grinned back. But inside he was wondering how the rest of the lab would take the news.

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Nick, Warrick, and Greg had all taken the news the same way Catherine had. If Gil leaving meant that he would be happier and healthier, then they didn't mind too much about the departure of their boss. With the three men filled in, Gil set off to find Sara.

He searched all over the lab for the brunette, being sure to check every room and any place he thought she might be. But after an hour of looking for her, Gil decided just to stop by her home and if she was there, to deliver the news. He was not looking forward to doing so, but knew that it had to be done.

Inside the vehicle that had been provided by the lab, Gil realized that leaving his job would mean some major changes would be made to his life. Shaking his head, he forbade the thoughts to hang around his already crowded mind.

Sara's house was closer than he had imagined. He found himself standing on her small porch about five minutes later and she opened the door before he had even knocked.

"Gil!" She gave him a hug, which he didn't return. As she pulled back, the brunette had an extremely confused look upon her face. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Sara, I need to tell you something."

The seriousness in his voice made her heart skip a beat. "What?"

Gil sat on the half-cement wall to the left of the porch. A frown appeared on his face and Sara immediately realized that whatever news he had, it was not good.

"I've resigned from the lab," He softly said. Sharing the information quickly seemed better than drawing it out. At least that's what Gil thought.

"What?" Sara sat down next to him. "You quit? Why?"

Gil ran his hand over his face. His doctor had said to eliminate the stress in his live, and his job was the main factor of that stress. But so was Sara. She was also a big aspect of the anxiety, and it meant she had to be removed from his life. He couldn't tell her that, it'd hurt her feelings more than he felt like dealing with.

"I've been doing this job for a very long time, Sara. I… there are other things I want to do with my life."

"Other things?"

"Yes. Things that do not involved the lab or even this town."

"Are we still…?"

Gil looked into her eyes for he knew would be the last time. "No. We're not."

As Sara stood up and walked back into her house, he felt an odd sense of guilt fill his mind. The door slammed in his face as he tried to apologize to her. And as Gil walked back to his car, he knew there was only one person who could make him see that his choice to leave the lab had been a good one.

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He sat in his vehicle for almost an hour, contemplating whether or not he go into the house or not. From the dimmed windows of his Tahoe, Gil watched a few people enter the house and about an hour later, they would exit with a smile on their face that signified immense happiness.

The last time Gil had been in the particular house, he had just been helping a friend who was in a tough situation. Just sitting outside of the enormous home, he saw that things were different. Staring at the second story of the house, Gil saw a light turn on. A confused look appeared on his face, but he watched a woman's figure stood in the window for a moment, and then strode away. He knew whose silhouette it was, and Gil decided right then that he needed to go and see her.

Stepping out of the vehicle, Gil shivered as a cold wind blew. He strode up the gravel driveway and stepped onto the porch. The candles on hanging iron plates were not lit due to the somewhat harsh wind. He knocked on the door and as it was opened, the lump in his throat rapidly dissolved.

"Mr. Grissom," Lady Heather smiled. "I've been expecting you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: As requested by mayfairmom, here's chapter two! Sorry it took me so long. :)

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"Lady Heather," Gil grinned back. "It's lovely to see you."

The brunette dominatrix took a few steps to her left, allowing Gil room to enter. The usual noises of the dominion rang out; screams, cracking whips. It was all ordinary and Gil knew that. He wasn't surprised by them, but was stunned by Heather. She closed the door and turned around to smile at him yet again. Good God; no woman's smile had ever made him melt the way hers did.

"You do understand that you're lucky to have caught me?"

Gil nodded at once. "Yes, I do. One of your girl's told me that you no longer participate in session."

This time, it was Heather's turn to nod. As she did, a single strand of her shiny brown hair fell from behind her ear. She didn't bother to tuck it back into place. Her porcelain face turned from a grin to expressionless as she started to respond.

"That is correct. I usually just handle the paperwork. But when I heard that you had called, I decided it would be okay to make an exception."

Gil took one small step toward her. The step was small enough that they're bodies were still several inches away, but close enough to feel the raw and natural passion that seemed to be thickening as the seconds flew past.

"Why?" He inquired softly, not wanting to disturb the moment anymore than necessary.

"You're an old friend," Heather's tone matched that of the man before her. "I just thought it seemed like the nice thing to do."

Gil's boldness took over and he found himself reaching up to tuck the stray wisp of hair back into it's place. She didn't seem to mind in the least; if anything, she rather enjoyed feeling the gently touch of his skin upon her cheek. With a grin, he allowed his hand to return to his side.

"Heather, I'm very sorry if I've disrupted your evening." Gil's eyes gave away that he did mean his words. "But I'm hoping we could possibly have some tea and talk?"

The brunette smiled warmly, her combined but masked emotions of weariness, sadness, and ever so slight coldness all faded away. Finally, for what seemed like the first time in a very long while, Heather saw the Gil Grissom she had originally known.

"I believe tea would help this situation far more than a session could."

Both Gil and Heather were surprised by her statement, but they dismissed it. Walking up the stairs side by side, Gil couldn't help but notice his heart had stopped beating so horribly fast and he did not feel quite so pressured to follow the image he had created for himself. To top everything off, he couldn't stop himself from kindly taking Heather's hand in his own. She glanced at him, and it was very clear that he was a changed man. Whether that change was large or just starting to form was undeterminable at the moment; Heather knew she'd have the answer by the end of their evening.

As the tea was poured and the two sat down to sip their drinks, Heather was the first to realize one thing. They both had intentions that might not have been entirely honorable. Whether their intents were the same or not would be discovered later. And as a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, she also understood that the evening, no matter which direction it took, would finish being much more than tea.


End file.
